In the later years of the last century, a deaf schoolteacher living in an obscure Russian town laid down the basis of modern astronautics. Other dreamers followed on his footsteps until World War II broke out and generated a great interest in rockets for their destructive potential. The Cold War accentuated this trend and rockets became a symbol of military and technological supremacy. Regarding outer space as a new battlefield, both sides of the "Iron Curtain" engaged in a frantic race that began with the launch of Sputnik I, and culminated with the first steps on the Moon. But ever since 1972, humans have not ventured beyond low Earth orbit a single time.

This will change. Soon, humans will again venture away from Earth. When we are ready -- which we think we are -- there will be a need for an integrated master plan for human space exploration. It begins in a world that is not focused on space, that does not understand interplanetary spaceflight or the opportunities that await, and where international cooperation is more often a shadow than a reality. It ends with a common journey to the stars.

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